We Fall Down
by BB-Hodgela-slaudia-forever
Summary: The death of a main character affects them all. Daniel is forced the opposite direction. Episode 1x22 "Reckoning" and forward
1. Chapter 1

Her damn phone kept ringing. She looked down from the road. It was Daniel again. She pressed the ignore button one more time. Soon it became five more times. She was just driving to clear her head, but she didn't want to talk to him. He had changed since getting out of prison. She understood that it would change him, but she didn't think it would change that much of him. Her phone beeps. _Six missed calls from Daniel._ Something must've happened. He usually stops calling from three times when she's frustrated with him. He knows that she normally doesn't want to talk after a fight, especially one this bad. He's trying to make their wedding huge and all she wants is something private. They are not his parents and she doesn't want to be them. She presses the send button in order to call him.

"_Emily finally."_

His voice sounds almost weak and relieved at the same time. It strikes a cord in her that she didn't know she had. That piece of her that started truly caring about him grew a little. She must remember that he knows everything about her father and he did not nothing. She cannot forgive that. At the same time, however, she would've done the same thing if their roles had been reversed. But it didn't make it right. He should've outed his father when he ha dthe chance, then she could've actually let herself fall for Daniel Grayson.

"Daniel, what's wrong?"

He lets out a deep breath and a noise. Is he crying? No, he can't be crying. Daniel never cries, he's always the strong one.

"_It's Charlotte. Mom found her this morning. She over dosed and..and she's in the hospital. They don't think pumping her stomach will do any good. Can you come to the hospital? Please? We're in the ER."_

She checks where she is. Charlotte is confusing. She's Amanda's sister. Emily's soon to be sister-in-law. But she always wanted a sister and if Victoria wasn't "Queen Victoria" things would've been different. She cares about Charlotte, she knows that much. She can pretend it's because she's Daniel's sister.

"I'll be there soon, promise."

"_Thanks. I…I love you, Emily."_

"I love you too, everything is going to be okay."

* * *

It takes her five minutes max to get to the hospital and by this point she's rushing to get where she's going. She just wants to find Daniel and make sure her sister is okay. _Her _sister. She has a sister. That she never knew, that she never put any effort into. If Charlotte dies, she doesn't know what she'll do. She'll probably just be even more broken then she already is. She doesn't even know how that is possible.

"Daniel!"

She calls across the hospital corridor. It's not a large space but she feels so far away from him in this moment, she feels like he's a million miles away. It surprises her but all she wants is to feel his arms wrap around her and him to tell her that every thing will be okay. But since he's the worried brother, that's her role today and she has to be able to play it. She rushes toward him and hugs him and doesn't plan on letting go, not caring that Victoria and Conrad are shooting her intense glares.

He breathes her in for a just a second. Feels her warmth envelope him. He knows she's mad right now and he isn't very happy with her either, but he needs her. He doesn't think he'll make it through if Charlotte dies. It'll break him, because it'll be his fault and his mother's fault and his father's fault because they didn't stop her. She joked about it, said they could add it to the book of Grayson shame. What she never knew is that she's the best one. She's honest and trusting and caring. She's nothing like the rest of them. She's the good one.

"Have you heard anything on Charlotte?"

He lets her go and runs a hand through his hair. He just wants his baby sister to be okay. He knows he's done everything wrong so far with her. He should've gotten her out of their family the second he was old enough. He should have taken her and run far away from the two people who ruined her most. Protected her from them, maybe then she'd still be okay.

"They haven't said a thing since we got here. They were going to try and pump it, but there were so many pills, Em. I can't even imagine how she got her hands on so many. She…she was the only good thing about my life until you came along. I can't lose her, she's my baby sister."

She analyzes what he says about her and Charlotte being all that's good in her life. If he only knew that when Sammy died she kissed Jack. But Emily doesn't love Jack, Emily loves Daniel. But that part of Amanda that sometimes comes out still loves Jack. She just needs to lock her away for now until this all is over. She watches as his eyes slowly fill with tears and she's reduced to them herself. Charlotte isn't just his baby sister but hers too. Somehow they manage to make it to the chairs that are lined up against the wall. A chair separates them and where Charlotte's divorced "parents" sit.

"It's going to be okay, Daniel."

"You can't say that with absolute certainty."

"You have to believe it though. If you want Charlotte to be okay, then you have to have faith in her."

She knows faith and hope and all of that other crap can only get you so far. As a child she had _faith _that one day she would see her father again, she had _hope _that the people who promised to bring him to her would be able to accomplish their objectives. Everything she had ever hoped for had just been a lie. He's about to respond when a doctor walks up to them. They all stand and unconsciously squish together like they may be able to hear the doctor better that maybe the closer they are the better the news he will bring.

"How is my daughter?"

Victoria is the first to speak, her heart breaking because this is her fault. She should've sent Charlotte somewhere to get treated for this, instead of just giving her a therapist to talk to. Why wasn't she there for her own daughter? Now the last living proof of her and David's love could disappear just like he did.

"I'm sorry to say that through the tests we know that Charlotte is not going to pull through this. Her heart rate is slowly lowering and even with our attempts to practically restart it, it isn't working. You should have a few minutes to say your goodbyes. I'm very sorry for your loss."

She watches as Daniel slowly loses it. First he shoves his father into his mother.

"Daniel!"

Victoria's voice is harsh, but she's in tears so it's low.

"Do something, dad! Fix this like you supposedly fix everything else. You have all the money in the world, use it to save her. Use it to save Charlotte."

"Daniel, that's not how it works. Even if I could save Charlotte, there's no time to."

"If she was really yours, you would be doing everything in your power instead of standing here like a coward. I'm going to say goodbye to my sister."

He leaves without further words and Emily is left standing there, confused on whether or not to follow him. She looks at Conrad and Victoria, for a second she feels sorry for them. But if Charlotte wasn't her sister there would be no remorse.

"I'm sorry."

She can't formulate any more words to say so she runs off in the direction Daniel went and she finds him sitting next to his- their- sister's bedside. He's crying and when she looks at Charlotte she begins to cry too. For whatever reason, Declan pops into her head. He still loves her sister. She pulls out her phone and texts Jack for Declan to get to the hospital immediately. Daniel is talking to her, so Emily doesn't dare say a word.

"I'm sorry I wasn't the best big brother, Charlotte. We fought so hard, even as kids, sometimes I forgot to tell you I love you, but I do. I love you so much. You're so good, so trusting. You held me together for so many years without even knowing it. I still need your silent strength and resilience. How am I not going to kill mom and dad without you? Please don't go, Charlotte, please don't go. I'm the older brother, I'm supposed to be the one to die first. Let me take your place, I'll do anything to se your eyes open one last time. Please, please."

Her heart broke a little and she tried to steel her resolve. None of this was going to help her. If the Grayson's hadn't framed her father he would've been there for Charlotte and she wouldn't have needed the drugs to get by. She just has another reason to get back at Victoria and Conrad.

"Daniel.."

She trails off as she sees Conrad and Victoria coming up the hall. He lets out a deep sigh and gets up off the chair to kiss her forehead. For the first time, Emily actually looks at her little sister. Pale, with a barely there heart beat, having machines practically breathe for her. That was her sister that she had never known. Before everything- before Emily came to town- she was normal, she was okay. Emily couldn't help but feel responsible, she changed the course of her sister's life.

"I love you, Charlotte, always."

He walks over to his fiancé, hoping to pull from whatever strength she has. But there is no output from her, she doesn't have any strength to loan to him. Once he gets to the door, Emily walks to Charlotte. She brushes back her hair like she did the day they sat on the porch swing together and just talked. She chokes back the tears, because she's certain that, just like Daniel, she would die for her baby sister.

"I was so looking forward to being your sister. You always made me smile, no matter what your brother did. I love you, Charlotte."

Together they leave the room and let Victoria and Conrad speak to her one last time. Declan even gets there in enough time to say a few last words. Emily and Daniel stand outside the room for what feels like an eternity before the inevitable sound of the flat line comes. The nurses walk slowly and deliberately to Charlotte's room to turn off the machines. Emily watches as Daniel breaks down again and she questions why she's not sobbing, she questions her _humanity_. Inside the room she sees Conrad holding Victoria, she's confused and disgusted by the change. Their daughter wanted nothing but them to be together and now that she's gone they may be back together.

"Emily, I need to get out of here. I can't…"

"Okay, okay. Do you want to go back in their one last time? It's your sister, Daniel."

"I can't. If I see her again, I won't be able to leave her. I can't say here."

She sees a panic in him so she silently says her last goodbye to the sister she never really knew. They walk out of the hospital to her car. The reason why she was mad at him has completely slipped her mind, along with most other things except for Daniel and Charlotte. The drive back to her place is quiet, he's crying, but right now she can't say a word to him. Finally they make it home and even though it's still cold outside they sit on the swinging bench on her porch. Daniel is the first to speak.

"I remember telling mom that she was no fun to play with when she was born. I mean I was eight at that point and they told me that I would be able to play with her. But then she started to get older and by the time I was ten she was fun. I can see us running on the beach now, right in front of this house. She'd splash me and then I'd splash her but softly because she was little. One day these older kids came by and knocked her over, mom and dad didn't see, but I did. I chased after them and yelled at them for hurting my baby sister. I promised her I'd protect her always. I failed her, this is all my fault."

She taken aback by the story, he had never talked about when he was a kid. She actually wanted to hear more stories, she wanted to hear more about them.

"Daniel, this is not your fault. She over dosed, she got drugs from someone and she took them. You both got older, it wasn't your job to look after her anymore. You weren't the one that needed to send her somewhere to fix what was wrong. This isn't on you, Daniel."

"I just love- loved her so much."

She swiped a gentle hand through his hair.

"I know you did and she loved you so much. She idolized you."

"This is my parents' fault, Emily, they did this to her. They could've helped her but they didn't. They were her parents and they did nothing. When the therapist wanted a group session, dad was late and then he got into a screaming match with mom. Charlotte left, they did nothing."

She didn't want to deny the fact because it was true, but she blamed them for everything that it had become a second nature thing for her to do. She looked into his eyes as they pleaded with her to help him. He felt so lost without his baby sister, she was like a shining star pointing the way.

"Daniel, shh. I know it's hard. Maybe you need to go to bed, sleep a little. I'll sit beside you, protect you."

He shakes his head. He doesn't want to sleep, he doesn't want to lay down. He doesn't want to wake up and find a world without his baby sister. Charlotte had been a constant for most of his life and he always assumed that he would never have to live a day without her.

"No, no. I have to tell you something and it's important. It's a way to get back at my parents."

* * *

What's Daniel going to tell her? Please review!


	2. Aftermath

**AN: The finale was overwhelming in so many ways. I just am hoping Victoria isn't dead. Anyways thank you so much for the reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! :)**

* * *

They had watched helplessly as Declan had said his goodbyes, as he kissed their daughter's cheek, told her he loved her and always would. They watched as he couldn't make himself let go of her lifeless hand and when he finally did they heard as he let out a sob. But most of all, they watched as Declan attempted to leave, with his brother's help, and they saw the glare he shot them, mouthing the words "this is all your fault." Then they waited and watched as their daughter's heart rate dropped until the flat line was evident not only by the noise but by the way their daughter's chest was not rising and falling anymore.

Then Victoria _broke_.

The nurses came turned off the machine, the noise stopped, but it had been clouded in Victoria's ears because of the sound of her heart breaking. She felt as Conrad, wordlessly, picked her up and sat her in his lap. He held her tight, words couldn't describe how much he needed her right now. He still hated her, possibly, but as her husband he had the right to not know and as her husband he had the right to comfort her. He can hear Daniel scream something and Emily's muffled voice comforting him and then their footsteps. Nurses are trying to move Charlotte, trying to take her away. He grabs the bed as Victoria continues to cry into his collar, if this were any other time he'd be ticked at her for ruining his shirt.

"Leave her be. Don't you take her away."

The nurses leave, realizing that the parents won't be wanting their too soon dead daughter going anywhere for a while. He looks at his daughter; his pale, sunken-in eyes, dead to everyone daughter. He starts to cry too, into Victoria's hair. Everything hitting him like a ton of bricks. Death is supposed to be hard, but he never knew it would be this hard. Charlotte wasn't even his, but it felt like it. Every time she would kick inside of Victoria when he would talk to her, every time she would come running down the stairs when he came home from work, every time he would kiss her forehead and she would whisper "I love you daddy", she was his in all ways that counted. Victoria lifts her head.

"Wha…What are we going to do, Conrad?"

"We're going to go home, get some rest, then bury our daughter."

The words taste sour in his mouth. Their daughter. She may have had David Clarke's blood, but Charlotte was their daughter. She was a remnant of the love they had, the love they once shared, now that she was gone what was to become of them? He now understands that Victoria didn't mean physically she meant everything else. How are you supposed to live on when your daughter, who hasn't even graduated high school, is dead? How are you supposed to move on when her death is your fault? And it is his fault and Victoria's fault and even David Clarke's fault for having sex with his wife. When would people realize that things with Conrad's name on them were not supposed to be shared.

"I don't want to say goodbye to her. Your children aren't supposed to die before you. You're not supposed to have to bury your child."

It surprises him that the sound of her voice just one day ago annoyed him to no end, but now by his dead daughter's bedside all he wants is for her to be close to him. He can't stand to lose someone else, he realizes. Victoria, Daniel, and maybe even Emily are all the family he has left to bargain with. The wife and children he had before Victoria are just a distant memory. The thought of them barely crosses his mind.

"Come on, we need to go home. We need to get sleep."

"I can't leave her."

"Victoria, it's done."

He hates that he's giving up on Charlotte, but what other choice does he have? He now has to focus on those that are actually still alive and she's his first choice. He has no doubt that Emily is taking care of Daniel and after today's events he knows Daniel wants nothing to do with him or Victoria for that matter. He believes he's lost his son once again only maybe this time they've both lost him. She gets up off of him and looks at her daughter. She smoothes out her daughter's hair. If she doesn't concentrate too much on her, it's like she's sleeping. With that thought, she kisses her forehead.

"I love you so much, Charlotte, you'll always be my baby girl."

Conrad stands, smoothes out his suit, and thinks the same as Victoria. His daughter is just sleeping. Tomorrow, he'll come see her. They'll talk about how stupid she was, how scared he was when he heard that she was being rushed to the hospital. He'll make her promise to never put him through something like that again, then he'll make a joke about how he's getting older and can't handle the excitement. She'll laugh. He can _hear _her laugh rattling in his head. It's _beautiful_.

"Being your father has been the greatest privilege. I love you Charlotte."

They leave the hospital in disbelief, in pain, in horror. They know it's the last time they'll see their daughter, because she doesn't belong to the world anymore. But neither of them can believe it, they're numb to everything now. In the morning, however, the numbness will fade and all that will be left is the blinding pain that accompanies the loss of a child.

* * *

Jack and Declan get home late, mainly because Dec decided to run around the hospital. He couldn't believe that Charlotte was dead. She was gone, just like that. Once when he was a little kid, he was playing in the ocean. This big wave came and knocked him down. He was under the water for what felt like forever and then the current kind of took him far away. He was gone, just like that. But then Jack swam out and some how managed to grab him and bring him back to shore. Declan wishes more than anything that he could've been Charlotte's Jack. He wishes he could've saved her. He feels like he has survivor's guilt or something cause he couldn't save her.

"Dec?"

Jack's voice sounds in his ears as they start to ring. Everything is going in slow motion right now. He sits down on one of the bar stools as Jack locks the door to the Stowaway. He rubs his temples, trying to fend off the head ache he feels coming on. Today was mostly good until Jack told him they had to go to the hospital because something terrible had happened to Charlotte.

"Declan, are you okay?"

"What do you think?"

He snaps at his older brother. Jack looks shell shocked. Sure Declan hasn't always been the most well mannered boy, but he's never snapped at him. Of course he's never been this hurt. Jack isn't even sure that their father's death had this much of an effect on him.

"Damn it, Jack I'm sorry. It's just, she needed me. I was protecting you, but she needed me. I shouldn't have given up. I should've kept pushing for her to stop. God only knows that her family did nothing."

"This isn't your fault-"

"Isn't it though? Cause she first got the pills here, when she was with me. I was responsible for her in those moments and I failed her."

Jack grabs his little brother's shoulders and shakes him a bit. Their long hair getting in their eyes. Declan is almost afraid of his brother, but Jack would never hurt him, not intentionally. Finally the shaking stops and both brothers can breathe again.

"This isn't your fault okay? You don't know how messed up before you dated her. She was a Grayson, for God's sake! They are so screwed up, Dec. They think they have everything, but they don't. They have money that's supposed to cover up all their problems, but money couldn't cover up Charlotte's issues. This isn't your fault."

Declan gets up off the barstool and paces a little. Jack sees the tears welling up in his younger brother's eyes even in the terrible lighting that the bar is currently providing. He doesn't know what he can do to help his little brother understand that it isn't his fault that his ex-girlfriend is dead.

"Fine. It isn't my fault. That's all fine and dandy. But it doesn't mean a thing, Jack, because she's still dead, _dead_. She's still gone and there is nothing I or anyone else can do about it. I still will hurt whether or not it's my fault. It will still always hurt. I loved Charlotte. You can't even understand-"

"That isn't fair. I love Amanda-"

"Is Amanda dead, Jack? No, not that we know of and she came back to you after all those years. Charlotte can't come back to me. She's dead. _Dead_, Jack. I still love someone who's dead. It sucks because I can't tell her anymore, can't see her ever again. We weren't together, but at least when she was still alive I could see her and know that she was okay."

Jack lets out a loud sigh.

"Dec, I don't-"

"I wouldn't expect you to, no one actually knows how. Besides it's not one of those things they teach you during the class "how to raise your teenage brother". I'll survive eventually."

Jack wishes he had a class that would teach him how to do this. He's lucky he has Nolan who knows how to do school stuff, who can pay for everything Declan needs. He hates accepting the help Nolan offers, but it's better than taking money from a Grayson.

"Why don't you get to bed, Declan? You need some sleep."

He walks up the stairs wordlessly, no good night, and leaves Jack alone to his thoughts. He gets up to turn out all the lights when there's a knock on the door. Obviously the bar is closed, so he thinks about not opening it, but the knocking continues. It's incessant. So finally he goes over and opens the door. The person there surprises even him.

"Amanda, what are you doing here?"

* * *

"_No, no. I have to tell you something and it's important. It's a way to get back at my parents."_

For a split second she thinks about telling him that she knows. That she knows exactly what he is going to say and she's been trying to bring down his family for months, actually almost a year. She even wants to tell him that she is the little girl that the feds carried out. The little girl that his mother made eye contact with as she was carted off, away from her father, never to see him again, as he slept soundly in his bed. She doesn't blame him, he didn't even know her then. But no, she can't tell him, she can't unload on him. She can't risk him leaving her and then telling his parents. Even though she's not sure he would right now, he seems to be turning away from them.

"Daniel, you're exhausted. Come on, we'll go to bed. You can't be sure you want to do this, tell me whatever this is, I want to let you sleep on it."

Secretly, in her heart, she's testing him. Hoping with all of her heart that he's turning back.

"No, we said no secrets. We said we wouldn't lie to each other and I'm sorry. I should've told you this the second my father told me. I kept it from you when I'm the one that made you promise that we wouldn't keep secrets."

She grabs his hand and squeezes. He's growing hysterical again, but she sees _her _Daniel coming back. The Daniel that had a conscious and good will. That didn't seem to be a member of the one percent even though he was. The Daniel that had no clue that people were using him for their own personal gains and if he did, he didn't care. His prison sentence stole that innocence from him, but it was coming back. He's turning away from his Grayson ways. _He _was coming back to _her_.

"Daniel, it's okay. Just tell me."

The breeze picks up and she shivers but neither of them dare to move. Daniel is afraid that if he moves, he'll lose his nerve. Emily just wants to hear him tell her the truth. She finds it ironic. She isn't even who she says she is, but she expects the truth from him. It's wrong, she knows it, but it doesn't change anything.

"My father and mother are responsible for that plane going down all those years ago. Then they covered it up by framing David Clarke with all of it. He never deserved to go, he never did anything wrong. Mom said she loved him and then she used him, used the fact that he really loved her to gain intelligence. And then dad had him killed in prison. Amanda never got to see her father again because of my parents. They need to pay for their sins, because it wasn't Charlotte's job too."

The way he tells the story sounds like them. She's using him to gain intelligence when in reality he actually loves her. She twists her engagement ring around her finger as her stomach clenches in discomfort. Is she really no better than Victoria? And there is no Conrad pushing her to do this. If anything, Nolan has told her to stop on several occasions. This is all on her own accord. She may be worse than Victoria.

"Daniel, let's go inside. It's freezing out here."

"No, no. You don't believe me, do you? I'm not making this up, I promise, promise. They did this to him and his little girl. Who knows, maybe if David was still here then Charlotte wouldn't have turned to the pills maybe things would be different and maybe she wouldn't be dead. I don't know, all I know is that they have to pay for what they did to David Clarke, to Amanda, to my baby sister."

"Daniel, I want to believe you so bad. But you're hurting right now and you don't have any proof. You could tell news stations and no one would believe you. You don't need any more negative news with people saying you're insane. I worry about you, I don't want you to get hurt."

She wants him to be the one to take down his parents because it would only show how good he is again, but without the proof to back up his accusation nothing good will come from it. It has to be her, it always has to be her.

"No. I have proof! I bugged and have live recordings from his office at the house. He told me in his office. I have him and mom, because he implicates her too. I have them. I just want to put them away, Charlotte died because of them and their lack of everything revolving their children. I want them to pay."

"Do you have the recording?"

"Yeah, it's on my computer, backed up on a flash drive. I'm going to call a news station have them run the story."

"What if we go through Nolan? He can have a newscast set up right here and it'll be on our terms not someone else's. How's that sound? Besides we know Nolan, you're more comfortable around him than most others."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

He pauses to let out a deep breath. She almost feels like they've both been holding their breath this entire time.

"Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go inside now?"

She grins and lets out a small laugh. She's scared he'll change his mind in the morning, but she can't think like that right now. Because right now, he wants to do the right thing, he wants revenge not only for their sister, but for her and her father. She sees him slowly becoming himself again.

"Yeah, come on."

They go inside and she closes the door behind them, locks all the locks too. After all the things and events of today, she just wants to go sleep for hours on end. She wants to be able to grieve for her sister which she can do lying in bed next to him. He'll allow her that much, she knows. But when he starts for the stairs, he knows she's not following him.

"Are you coming to bed, Emily?"

"I'm going to call Nolan, you go I'll be right up. I just need to tell him."

"Okay. If I fall asleep, I…just know I love you."

She smiles at him.

"Love you too."

He walks up the stairs, slow deliberation in his steps. She waits until she hears their bedroom door open to grab her phone. _Three missed calls from Nolan. _She frowns. Was Charlotte's death televised or something? Does he somehow know?

"_Nolan Ross."_

"Nolan, it's me."

"_Are you okay? Charlotte's overdose is on the news."_

"I don't know how I am honestly."

"_What about Prince Daniel?"_

"He's getting better, Nolan, honestly better. He told me about the fact that his parents framed my father. He bugged his father's office, he's got him admitting it and implicating Victoria and he wants to broadcast it tomorrow. That's where you come in."

"_Hold up. How did this happen, Ems? He wants revenge on them? He's practically going to do what you've been trying to do in for months in one day. And I get to be the one to tape it to set it up on a network. I can have CBS there in the morning with me in charge. Sound good?"_

"That's perfect, Nolan. Let's say ten-ish. It's been a really long day and I need some sleep."

"_One question before you go to bed?"_

"Fine, Nolan, what is it?"

"_What are you going to do once your revenge is done?"_

"Honestly, I have no clue. I'll see you in the morning."

She ends the call and turns off her phone, she won't be needing it until the morning anyway. She goes to the laundry room where her pajamas are and changes into them. Slowly, she goes upstairs and opens the bedroom door to find Daniel sleeping soundly. She takes a deep before walking over to him, covering him better with their blankets and kissing his cheek.

"What am I going to do with you?"

She goes to the vanity and brushes out her hair, putting it up in a ponytail. She looks down to the photo of her, Charlotte, and Daniel, which was taken on the night of their engagement party. The first night she started taking the pills, she should've stopped it right then. This was partially her fault too. She traces the outline of Charlotte's face. Tears slip out of her eyes as she tries to stop them. _I'm sorry I failed her, dad. _She was so sorry, she got caught up in everything that she wasn't a good sister. She would've done both without suspicion, but she didn't think of it. She puts the picture back on the dresser and gets into bed. But the day's events cloud her thoughts to the point where she can't think about anything but Charlotte. Then Nolan's question eats at her.

What is she going to do when her purpose is done?

* * *

**What is she going to do? What will happen to Conrad and Victoria once the news spreads? Or will Daniel lose his nerve?**


End file.
